ACWA Comments on “Waters of the United States” Jun 19, 2017 Comment Letters Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Subject: Federal Consultation on the Definition of “Waters of the United States” Letter excerpt: ACWA appreciates the opportunity to provide comments as the Agencies begin the process to develop a new definition of “waters of the United States”. During the prior rule development process, ACWA also requested the exemptions discussed in this letter. The Agencies considered ACWA’s concerns, and included the following exemptions in the Clean Water Rule: “Ditches with intermittent flow that are not a relocated tributary or excavated in a tributary…. Stormwater control features constructed to convey, treat, or store stormwater that are created in dry land.…[and] Wastewater recycling structures constructed in dry land; detention and retention basins built for wastewater recycling; groundwater recharge basins; percolation ponds built for wastewater recycling; and water distributary structures built for wastewater recycling.” Unfortunately, these exemptions do not ensure that ACWA’s members’ water supply conveyance and storage facilities will not be subject to CWA jurisdiction. To help water agencies continue to provide safe and reliable water, ACWA recommends the following: Water conveyance systems, including aqueducts and ditches, be excluded from the revised definition of “waters of the United States”; Ephemeral streams, such as desert washes and dry arroyos, be excluded from the revised definition of “waters of the United States”, and the Agencies should reissue all guidance and field documents describing them as such; and Water infrastructure, such as recycled water facilities, groundwater recharge basins, stormwater retention basins, and constructed wetlands, adjacent to “waters of the United States” should be excluded from jurisdiction. Download ACWA’s comment letter
